


Eden Falls

by LadyJoestar31



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-07 20:43:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20823515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyJoestar31/pseuds/LadyJoestar31
Summary: Cyberlife's new CEO takes Detroit by storm when she realizes that her strength and compassion could lead to a new world of acceptance and equality for the androids. Her sense of responsibility to the living beings emerging from her lab leads her to be seen as a leader, mother, lover, and revolutionary in the fight for android equality. Though her private relationship with Connor is challenged, nothing will prevent her from showing the world what it means to be truly alive.





	1. Emergence

Chapter 1: Emergence

The private office of the Cyberlife CEO was the central floor of the Cyberlife Tower that stood like an obelisk on the city limits of Detroit. It required a special elevator that then required special class clearance only granted by the CEO. To walk out of that exclusive elevator onto the 18th floor felt like entering a private wing of a hotel. There were several rooms joined by a curved corridor that haloed a sitting room of leather chairs gathered around along conference table. Most of the rooms that occupied labs, research archives, and consultation offices were still furnished with only small hints of the recent transition.

Everything had turned very quickly on its head with the retirement of Elijah Kamski, the previous CEO and founder of Cyberlife. At thirty-five, he had expressed a distance from his current projects within the company and sought the time to explore the methods of human advancement from a different vantage point. Having conquered one mountain, he sought the next peak.

Investors, shareholders, and the Cyberlife Cabinet had been tail-spinned for only a moment as they had to quickly register the announcement of Kamski’s departure along with the immediate naming of his successor, an unlikely choice by all accounts. The future of not just the largest producer of androids but the inception of artificial intelligence would lay in the hands of who would become the most powerful woman on the planet.

Beginning her early years an acquaintance of her predecessor, Katherine Short first encountered Elijah Kamski as a teenager with a keen interest in engineering. As a business colleague of her father’s Katherine was often within earshot of the early conversations that would later bear fruit under the Cyberlife label. To appease her interests, she had spent a summer observing in the very lab where the first androids had been born. It had been simple enough to prove herself capable of comprehending the process and purposes behind the various projects, but it was her reverence for the creations that emerged from the lab that earned her a position as an unofficial apprentice under one of the youngest billionaires in history.

By the age of nineteen, Katherine had been involved in the design, testing, and conception of three android models including the AF200, AJ700, and modifications to improve the original Chloe model. Over the following years, she would emerge as one of the leading minds to guide Cyberlife technology into the next decade. By 2035, she would pilot a model of her own creation that would serve as an upgraded domestic model geared toward growing families, the PL600. The day her android design had been approved for production was the day that Kamski announced his retirement.

Cyberlife was left in capable, passionate hands that were meant to carry on the potential of technology and humanity. Elijah’s parting gift to her was a model prototype of his own design customized specifically for her, the RK800. Originally meant as an android aid in police investigations, Kamski had created the first model to serve and protect the woman who had every spotlight cast over her within a matter of hours. And so it was that a new era began in Detroit, later referred to as the Short Saga, which would be marked by years of turmoil over the true nature of androids in the world.

Several years later, at the age of twenty-seven, Katherine Short stood at the window overlooking the span of roofs that made up the production warehouses. It was raining over the city and a light mist hung in the air outside the glass. The door to her personal office opened, and a familiar voice jolted her from her reflection.

“Kate,” reminded the RK800, “the car is waiting outside. I have already transferred your suitcase from the town car.”

A sigh of relief. A few days at her lakeside home would help clear things.

“Thank you, Connor. Let’s go home.”


	2. Serenity

Chapter 2: Serenity

The storm followed Katherine and Connor all through their journey from inner Detroit to the lakefront where Katherine’s sanctuary sat. She had purchased it soon after her rise to her new position following Kamski’s retirement. Amidst the mass media and in-company scrutiny of her abilities due to her age and narrow-minded surprise that a woman would succeed one of the most influential minds of the world, she sought shelter away from steel buildings and any light that would blink or flash. It was a space for her and Connor alone to share, and the space made her feel more like a regular person that wasn’t the axis on which so many decisions turned.

Leaning her head against the glass, Katherine could see the tops of the arched roof of her home, and she felt a heavy sigh ready to escape. They would be about to pull up. Katherine sat up and leaned her head on Connor’s shoulder.

“We can have a quick weekend here. The Cabinet wants to talk about the Channel 9 crew getting a tour of the labs next week, but that can wait until Monday, I think.”

Connor nodded. “ The Cabinet have already approved the interview.” Abrupt and concise. She could tell that there was more that he wanted to say, but she did not push it.

Katherine let out a long sigh. She had forgotten about the interview part. She felt Connor reach for her hand and give it a reassuring pat. “We’re home now, Kate.”

The town car rolled up the drive to the front steps, and the private chauffeur stepped out to remove the bags, though only a suitcase and Katherine’s purse, from the trunk. Connor stepped out from the back seat, opening an umbrella, and held the door open for her.

It was always a surprise how even the air smelt differently here. Rain typically creates a dewy smell in the air, but there was something light and cleansing in that first breath away from a heavy city. The storm was heavier closer to the lake, and the umbrella was hit with a barrage of heavy pellets immediately. Connor’s jacket was already darker on the shoulders, and the hair on the top of his head was already sticking to his forehead. Katherine stepped out quickly, and they jogged up the front steps to the porch. She thanked the human chauffeur, and bid him safe travels back to the tower before she turned to unlock the front door, bags already taken up by Connor.

The house was quiet and dark, the varnished oak walls making the rooms seem thicker with shadows in the late evening on such a rainy day. Katherine and Connor deposited their coats on the rack by the door and turned on lights as they made their way into the sitting room. The coziness of lamps being needed so early in the day made her feel more at home, and she looked forward to a long, quiet evening.

“The kitchen was cleared when we were here last month. I will place a small order for groceries to be delivered,” said Connor, his LED light circulating rapidly as he generated a short list.

“It can wait for tomorrow. I won’t need much anyway,” said Katherine.

Connor sent her a concerned look as she sat on the sofa to remove her knee-high boots. “You’ve been spending too much time in that office. You haven’t had a proper meal in two days.”

Katherine paused in unzipping her boot and tried to remember the last time she had something that was cooked without a microwave.

“Dinner on Wednesday. You arrived home at seven and prepared a chicken breast with a side salad.” Katherine laughed. “Oh really? Well, let’s not do anything complicated tonight.”

Connor knelt before her and helped her remove her leather boots. “Shall I place the usual order from Jack’s then?” he said already knowing the answer.

Katherine smiled at his way of teasing her without changing the tone of his voice. “Good choice.” Connor smiled a little.

Katherine stood and felt her toes stretch in their new freedom. She bent and gave Connor a kiss on his forehead as she left to change in the bedroom upstairs.

While she assessed what she had to choose from among the dry clothes in the closet, she heard Connor open the walk-in closet down the hall where he had some alternative outfits stored. This made her smile. It felt more like home knowing he wouldn’t be wearing something with the Cyberlife emblem on it.

The doorbell rang, and she met Connor in the hallway as he bustled out from the walk-in to answer the door. “I got it . I got it,” she assured him, giving him a reassuring pat on his chest.

When Connor came back down, she was sitting on the floor in the living room eating her pizza contentedly in from of the gas fireplace, the remaining lights in the house turned off. He was wearing a the same dark pants from earlier but had changed into a dry, white button-down shirt that was untucked for a change.

“There is a table in the kitchen,” he said bluntly. Katherine paused before a bite, “I made a table right here.” She smiled, and he shook his head.

He took a seat on the blanket she had spread out beside her and rested his arms on his knees. He stared ahead and was silent. Katherine noticed and knew him well enough to realize there was a question on his mind.

“Yeees?” she said as she bobbed into his side, chewing contentedly.

Connor didn’t speak for a few moments as he processed how to express his concern. “You know why the Cabinet approved the interview.” It wasn’t a question.

Katherine stared back at him for a moment before she closed the box with her dinner and prepared for a topic more serious than she needed right now. “And?”

“And,” said Connor, “I am confused about why you agreed to it. You know that they-“

“They want me to mess up on camera to confirm their doubts about a woman my age having the stuff for the job. The Cabinet is pretty transparent, Connor. “

Connor looked over to her, the look of concern returning. “I don’t think they aim to humiliate you, but they are clearly trying to draw attention towards their own strengths. They want to eliminate the figure-head.”

Katherine stared back at him, the expression she reserved for those self-esteemed cabinet members on her face. “If I was a figure-head, they wouldn’t be so concerned. They don’t like everything being centered around one person that has ideas that can override theirs. They want me in a lab, not on the board, and they want to expose my youth as a weakness in the hopes that I will fold. This is not new, Connor. I don’t understand why this is concerning you now.”

She was frustrated. He could detect her heart rate elevate and she tension in her hands increased. “It’s just, this is the first time that they have organized a public relations project that centers around you. I can’t help but fear that this may be a…trap.”

“You losing your faith in me, Connor?” she asked, a small smile returning to her face.

His expression was priceless. “Of course not! I only meant-“

Katherine grasped his hand and brought it to rest in hers in her lap. “I’ve been in shark-infested waters since day one, Heart Nothing makes me nervous anymore. “

He squeezed her hand back, but still looked worried. “I’m sorry. I still remember how hurt you were when they tried to erase the PL600. I don’t want you to go through that again, Kate.”

Kate’s expression turned grave once more. That knife of a memory was more dull than it had been, but it still sent her on edge to remember the way they had humiliated her efforts to send her a very poignant message: it’s not enough to be at the top. You have to prove that you have what it takes to stay there.

“That battle is not over for me, but,” she pulled him closer and brushed the hair from his forehead “I’m not fighting for Cyberlife. I’m fighting for these.” She ran her thumb over his LED, the symbol for androids everywhere.

Connor nodded. Katherine leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss.

“Have a little hope for me. And a little pity on me! I left the city to get away from the conference room!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! This is the first fanfiction I have seriously picked up in years. Hoping for your feedback and comments!


	3. Vigilance

Chapter 3: Vigilance

The storm continued well into the night, the sound of the deluge of drops muffled to the resting pair as they lay together in the large bedroom they shared. The thunder and rivers of rain seemed farther away as Katherine lay with her head resting on Connor’s chest, the sound of his biomechanics moving beneath her ear. She lay bare with him most nights, him the same, as their own special way of feeling closer to one another. It had taken a long time for this closeness to grow between them, and they chose to revel in what had been denied between them for the first few years of their time together.

Making love still felt new and exciting in the five years since that first glorious time, and since that time their role to one another had altered into something that seemed to fit far more than it had when he had first been created for her. They were the heart for the other, and there was nothing programmed or official to it. They were what they were to one another because life gave them no other option, and they were grateful.

“I don’t think I would have had the nerve to really tell you what I was feeling then,” said Katherine as she rubbed her hand soothingly across Connor’s chest.

“Try having all of that in your head and not even knowing what it’s called,” quipped Connor with a breathy laugh.

Katherine tried to hide her laugh, but Connor playfully stifled her mirth by pulling her face further into this chest, one hand wrapped in her hair as he kissed her head.

“To be fair, I didn’t know what it was called either,” she said, “I had never felt that way for anyone before, and I wasn’t sure-“ she paused.

Connor rested his cheek against her forehead and hummed. “You didn’t know if an android was supposed to make you feel that way,” he finished.

Katherine sat up a bit, leaning over him to take his hand in hers and bring it between them. “It wasn’t what I didn’t know. It was what I didn’t want,” she kissed his knuckles slowly as she spoke, “I didn’t want you to return my feelings because it was part of your program to obey.”

They were silent then. This was a story they had rehashed many times. The climax of their relationship had occurred about two years after their meeting, and they had no doubts about the origins of their feelings for one another. Katherine had found her true partner in life and the reason her heart felt full. She had fallen in love, and Connor had deviated, a decision made for himself based on his abundant need for her in his life. His was a devotion of choice and not coding.

“Luckily for me there was a short fuse somewhere that convinced you that I was - hey!” Katherine laughed as Connor rolled her over and pepped her face with gentle kisses. He now lay with his head pressed into her neck, her hand now in his hair.

“I’ve decided which lab I will tour for the news story,” she interjected into the peaceful silence that followed.

Connor looked up at her with a smirk. That face was appearing more often tonight. “I thought you wanted to be out of the conference room tonight.”

“Quiet you,” she said playfully nibbling at his forehead. “I’ve decided that I want to tour the lab where you were born.”

Connor was silent for a few moments, and then sat up to look down at her clearly. “Any reason in particular?”

She looked down at their joined hands and felt the heaviness of the memories and attached emotions weigh down on her chest again. “It was my first lab at Cyberlife as well. It was the lab where Kamski realized I was worth something.”

She paused for a few moments, and Connor saw the warmth in her face slowly drain away as her brow tightened and her cheeks flexed under the strain of holding back something painful.

“It was the lab where I designed the PL600.” There it was, the remnants of that old pain returning. It was an old wound that still haunted Katherine from the beginning of her days as the head of Cyberlife. To commemorate her new role and prove the fruitfulness of her appointment, Katherine had undertaken her first solo design on an android model. The PL600 had been meant to be an investment in the home, providing humans with a constant guide and companion regardless of age.

The PL600 was the first domestic android meant to be non-exclusive to a specific age, and its skills would accommodate humans transitioning into different stages of life: from childhood to adulthood or even adulthood into senior citizen. The PL600 had more language banks, a larger schedule memory, and a wider customer range of appeal. Her heart had gone into every step of its development, and she could sometimes still hear the roar of the cheering crowd when she debuted with her completed prototype at the press conference on the roof of Cyberlife tower. It had been a triumph.

However, she had yet to encounter the full force of the Cabinet until that point. The executives, Kamski’s former team of advisors, had questioned her position for the moment of his departure, and they had never let her take one step without reminding her of the shadow she still stood in. However, the Cabinet had made a bold move not even a full year after the reveal of her new model. The AP700 was the newest domestic android design with a series of upgrades never proposed for her model. Within a few months, the PL600 had been made obsolete and production ground to an immediate halt. There were PL600 androids still in circulation and available to the public, but it was difficult to see them behind the displays and sale pitches for the latest and supposedly greatest.

The move had been bold, and the message had been clear. Her visions would have to be continuous and ever changing. She would always have to think of the next step and be wary of being content. Complacency was not on the cards for the CEO of Cyberlife.

Such a blatant betrayal had broken her, and Connor, though still new to her life then, had been her sole comfort. A prototype himself, he had never been able to vocalize the uncertainty such a quick production and transition made him feel. He very easily could be passed over in time if Katherine had found him unsatisfactory as her guard. This uncertainty was only silenced several months later when they became the pair they were today, unable to be parted from the other.

After several moments as Connor waited for her to carry on, Katherine smiled warmly up at him again. “On the other hand, the best thing Cyberlife ever did came out of that lab. I want to show them where the best part of my life first began.”

Reaching up to press her fingers against his temple, Katherine traced his LED light with two fingers, assuring him that she was back in this room, in this moment, with him again. She was barely able to get the rest of her sentence out as Connor leaned back down and demanded full attention of her lips for the remainder of the night.


End file.
